Feds targeted adoptee from South Korea because of crimes

FILE - In this March 19, 2015, file photo, Korean adoptee Adam Crapser, left, poses with daughters, Christal, 1, Christina, 5, and his wife, Anh Nguyen, in the family's living room in Vancouver, Wash. After struggling with joblessness because of his lack of immigration papers, homelessness and crime, Crapser, a South Korean man who was flown to the U.S. 37 years ago and adopted by an American couple at age 3 has been ordered deported back to a country that is completely alien to him, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka, File)
(The Associated Press)

FILE - In this March 19, 2015, file photo, Korean adoptee Adam Crapser poses with daughter, Christal, 1, in the family's living room in Vancouver, Wash. Crapser, a South Korean man who was flown to the U.S. 37 years ago and adopted by an American couple at age 3 has been ordered deported back to a country that is completely alien to him, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2016.(AP Photo/Gosia Wozniacka, file)
(The Associated Press)

SALEM, Ore. – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is defending the ordered deportation of a South Korean man who was flown to the U.S. 37 years ago and adopted by an American couple at age 3.

ICE spokeswoman Rose M. Richeson cited Adam Crapser's criminal history as justification for deportation. That includes convictions for assault and being a felon in possession of a weapon

She said Crapser was arrested by ICE on Feb. 8 after serving a 60-day sentence for menacing and attempted coercion. Last week, an immigration judge denied his request for relief from removal. Crapser's adoptive parents never obtained U.S. citizenship for him.